Macron says that the EU-Mercosur agreement as it is now will receive a "flat no" from France.

French President Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure the country's agricultural sector this Wednesday by assuring them that the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur in its current state will receive "a firm no from France." That was the message conveyed by the French head of state to a group of farmers he met with today in Toulouse (south), as reported to the press by the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard. The minister added that without strong safeguard clauses, mirror measures, or border controls, "France cannot, at this stage, validate the draft agreement with the Mercosur countries, as this draft does not protect the interests of our farmers." Genevard, who also attended the meeting between Macron and the farmers, added: "We cannot accept, neither the farmers nor the consumers can accept, that we produce and import into Europe products and food that do not respect the standards we impose on our own producers." The minister insisted that France will ...